Complementary feeding and the early origins of obesity risk:A study protocol

Introduction The rise in the prevalence of childhood obesity worldwide calls for an intervention earlier in the life cycle. Studies show that nutrition during early infancy may contribute to later obesity. Hence, this study is designed to determine if the variation in complementary feeding practices poses a risk for the development of obesity later in life. A mixed methods approach will be used in conducting this study.Methods and analysis The target participants are infants born from January to June 2015 in the South East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO) platform. The SEACO is a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) that is established in the District of Segamat in the state of Johor, Malaysia. For the quantitative strand, the sociodemographic data, feeding practices, anthropometry measurement and total nutrient intake will be assessed. The assessment will occur around the time complementary feeding is expected to start (7 Months) and again at 12 months. A 24-hour diet recall and a 2-day food diary will be used to assess the food intake. For the qualitative strand, selected mothers will be interviewed to explore their infant feeding practices and factors that influence their practices and food choices in detail.Ethics and dissemination Ethical clearance for this study was sought through the Monash University Human Research and Ethics Committee (application number CF14/3850-2014002010). Subsequently, the findings of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, national and international conferences

The Choice of Reinforcement and Its Impact on Project Cost: A Case study of mild steel and fabric reinforcements in road construction

Roads and Highways are vital lifelines. Roads are needed for accessibility and for transporting of people, goods and services.  Roads are therefore needed for socio-economic purposes. This research aims at assessing the choice of reinforcement and its impact on Construction cost in road construction. The objectives were as follows; to determine the initial cost of pavements constructed using fabric (mesh) reinforcement and mild steel rods respectively, to compare the differences in construction cost between pavements constructed using fabric reinforcement and mild steel rods, to determine the cost implications of using the two types of reinforcement in road construction. The use of fabric (mesh) reinforcement will result in potential savings of GH¢559,650.00 per kilometre which represents a savings of 41.826%.  Hence fabric (mesh) reinforcement is cheaper than mild steel rod in road construction Keywords: Roads, Highway, Reinforcement, Project

High Yield and Fabric Reinforcements Choices in Pavement Construction and their Impact on Construction Cost

Roads and Highways are vital lifelines. Roads are needed for accessibility and for transporting of people, goods and services.  Roads are therefore needed for socio-economic purposes. This research aims at assessing the choice of reinforcement and its impact on Construction Cost in road construction. The objectives were as follows; to determine the initial cost of pavements constructed using fabric (mesh) reinforcement and high yield steel rods respectively, to compare the differences in construction cost between pavements constructed using fabric reinforcement and high yield steel rods, to determine the cost implications of using the two types of reinforcement in road construction. The use of fabric (mesh) reinforcement will result in potential savings of GH¢669,000 per kilometre which represents a savings of 50.07%.  Hence fabric (mesh) reinforcement is cheaper than High yield steel (High tensile steel) in road construction. Keywords: Roads, Highway, Reinforcement, Project

The Impact of Innovation of the Construction Industry in Ghana

The essence of this paper therefore, is to bring out the impact of innovation of the Construction industry in Ghana and also to establish tangible and intangible benefits associated with innovation.  Analysis of the relevant literature indicates the impact and the problem of slow adaptation of innovation and new ways of working within the construction industry is a great concern to most organization that operates within and outside the industry. To bridge this conservatism attitude of innovation in the industry, it is fundamental to explore the impact and for that matter the benefits of innovation within the industry. This paper however, seeks to embark on this investigation on the impact of innovation and to bring to light its related benefits and how these would be achieved. Data were collected among construction professionals (Consultants) and Contractors via questionnaires supported by informal interviews. Analysis of the data was done using simple percentage method and the findings were represented in the form of pie-chart and bar-chart using micro-soft excel programme. The study established that innovation within an industry brings about increased in economic growth and profitability. The study also revealed that ease of working at a lower cost with much precision is assured when there is innovation Recommendation of effective coordination between Consultants and Contractors must exist to facilitate innovation beginning from research and development set-up within the firms. Keywords: Impact; innovation; Construction; industry; Ghan

Comparative Cost Analysis between Asphalt Pavement and Concrete Pavement in Road Construction: A Case study using Concrete grade 35

Roads and Highways are vital lifelines. Roads are needed for accessibility and for transporting of people, goods and services.  Roads are therefore needed for socio-economic purposes. This research aims at assessing the suitability of concrete grade 35 as an alternative pavement to as asphalt pavement in road construction.  The objective of the research is to carry out investment appraisal on road project undertaken using concrete pavement and asphalt pavement and to compare their lifecycle costs and their initial cost of construction. The findings were as follows; the initial cost of the asphalt pavement was cheaper than concrete pavement. In terms of lifecycle costs, concrete pavement is cheaper than asphalt pavement. Investment appraisal methods were in favour of the asphalt pavement, however the present worth was in favour of concrete pavement. This was due to the high maintenance costs of asphalt pavement. Keywords: Road, Highway, Investment Appraisal, Pavement

Closing the prevention of mother-to-child transmission gap in Nigeria: an evaluation of service improvement intervention in Nigeria

Objectives: The objective was to assess improvement, or lack thereof, in the uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) services at selected sites supported sites by the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative Nigeria (GHAIN). Design: The study used aggregated monthly service statistics to evaluate service improvement efforts that were conducted before and after these were undertaken between July 2007-June 2008. Settings and subjects: The service improvement efforts took place in 60 public healthcare facilities. Outcome measures: The study measured changes in the number of pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics for the first time, the number of pregnant women tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the number of HIV-positive women receiving antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis, and the service ratio, an indicator of the relative uptake of ARV prophylaxis. An estimate of MTCT events that were averted through ARV prophylaxis taken by the pregnant women was also calculated. Results: One hundred and twenty thousand, five hundred and thirty-seven women attended an antenatal clinic (ANC) for the first time. There was an average of 167.4 monthly attendances per facility. ANC attendance increased per facility by 11.1 women monthly post-intervention (p-value < 0.01). The uptake of HIV testing was 87%, with a monthly average increase of 17.8 women tested per facility (p-value < 0.01). ARV prophylaxis uptake rose from 3.3-5.4 women per facility per month (p-value < 0.01). The service ratio per facility improved from 5.3 women receiving ARVs to 6.5 for every 10 women who tested positive for HIV (p-value < 0.01). Applying risk reduction estimates of different ARV  regimens, it was estimated that between 88-169 MTCT events were averted pre-intervention, and 143-276 events, post-intervention. Conclusion: Service improvement intervention improved the utilisation of PMTCT services. It should be a key intervention that is used to close the PMTCT gap in Nigeria.Keywords: HIV, PMTCT, evaluation, Nigeria, service improvement, effectivenes